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Topic: Orthodox Churches in Chicago? (Read 1832 times)

This may seem like a silly thread, but I have a friend in Chicago who would like to attend a divine liturgy sometime as an inquirer, but I have no idea where to send him. I guess I would like him to be exposed to something more traditional, i.e. bearded clergy, no HERETICAL pews. Services in at least partial English would be a plus, but whatever. I was just wondering if there are any notoriously awesome churches in Chicago I should send him to. I am overwhelmed by the options!

...but, it does have pews. Churches are at a premium in Chicago, and you buy what is available and tailor it to your needs.

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Conquer evil men by your gentle kindness, and make zealous men wonder at your goodness. Put the lover of legality to shame by your compassion. With the afflicted be afflicted in mind. Love all men, but keep distant from all men.—St. Isaac of Syria

Christ the Savior is a good choice, I really miss my old parish. No pews, bearded clergy, a traditionalist aesthetic without the scariness of overt dogmatism, a good mix of converts and cradle Orthodox, services completely in English, and a parish small enough that you can befriend all the regulars within an after-service coffee hour or two.

There's a Antiochian Orthodox church At La salle St. And Oaks st...in chicago Has no pews only folding chairs if you need one..Litugies are in english...

Theres also a new calendar greek orthodox church with a organ and pews. on the same side of the street.the greek one is north of oak st. on la salle st. the antiochian is south of oak st.on la salle st.... very very close to each other....

All Saints Church, the parish of yours truly.http://www.allsaintsorthodox.org/No pews (we took them out. We mused about having a bondfire, but decided to donate them to some needy Protestants), all beards (though the deacons' is more a gotte), Fr. Patrick Reardon (famous or infamous depending on who you ask). All English. Adult Sunday School year round after DL (and coffee, of course).

Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

Why are there two OCA "cathedrals" in Chicago, if in fact there is only one bishop's throne in the city?

History: the other one, St. George, made a stipulation when it joined up that it remain a cathedral (it was some splinter group after the Revolution). I can see it (and Holy Trinity, and the two UGCC SS Olha and Volodymyr and St. Nicholas from the rooom where I am typing this right now. St. George sort of became the immigrants Church, especially after immigration picked up.

Speaking of history, I think I posted how Christ the Savior became Orthodox here somewhere.

« Last Edit: June 02, 2009, 10:28:48 AM by ialmisry »

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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

I would certainly have to agree that All Saints is a good choice for an inquirer since the majority of the parish is converts, very few cradles.... They are also probably one of the most knowledgable congregations on Orthodoxy in the city. In addition, their outreach is tremendous, they've sent more missionaries than all the Chicago churches combined!

As far as Holy Trinity and Christ the Savior, having extensive experience with both, I cannot recommend either one. The people at Christ The Savior are somewhat unfriendly, especially some of the choir folk. The only positive is that the majority of the congregation is young people or college students. As for Holy Trinity, the people there are majorily old and generally less friendly, and the church itself is probably going to cease to exist in the next 2 years due to less than competent management by the Priest, and Parish Council.

Christ the Savior is nice; my brother goes there and I liked it when I went there. I've only been to a few churches in the Chicago area, the other three being All Saints (mentioned by ialmisry), Holy Resurrection Serbian Cathedral (has pews), and Holy Virgin Protection Cathedral (under ROCOR; it's really nice there but the services are done only in Slavonic).

There is a orthodox church on i believe paulina Ave ,just south of division st ..across from the police station..Does anybody know what church that is,i pass it by many times, it never seem to be open for business,,,anybody knows about it....

There is a orthodox church on i believe paulina Ave ,just south of division st ..across from the police station..Does anybody know what church that is,i pass it by many times, it never seem to be open for business,,,anybody knows about it....

Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

There's a Antiochian Orthodox church At La salle St. And Oaks st...in chicago Has no pews only folding chairs if you need one..Litugies are in english...

Theres also a new calendar greek orthodox church with a organ and pews. on the same side of the street.the greek one is north of oak st. on la salle st. the antiochian is south of oak st.on la salle st.... very very close to each other....

No, this is Christ the Saviour (OCA). The bishops residence is there. The Greek Church is Annunciation Cathedral.

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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

There is a orthodox church on i believe paulina Ave ,just south of division st ..across from the police station..Does anybody know what church that is,i pass it by many times, it never seem to be open for business,,,anybody knows about it....

Thanks Isa ...It seem like its always closed...I thought they went out of business ,i never see people going inside or standing in front of it ever....do they enter from the back....also is it old or new calendar...

There is a orthodox church on i believe paulina Ave ,just south of division st ..across from the police station..Does anybody know what church that is,i pass it by many times, it never seem to be open for business,,,anybody knows about it....

Thanks Isa ...It seem like its always closed...I thought they went out of business ,i never see people going inside or standing in front of it ever....do they enter from the back....also is it old or new calendar...

I believe New Calendar, but I can be wrong: I've been there several times, but never outside of Lent, and not recently (though I was near it today and could see the cupulas from the window). The neighborhood is not the best, despite the police station across the street. I've known several people there, so yes, it is a functioning parish, mostly Russian immigrants now I understand. But I know a fairly young couple who go there, and they are American.

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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

As for beards, it should be a very personal right for each particular priest or deacon to decide for himself. My first spiritual advisor did not wear a beard. He was a real servant of God, a person of an extraordinary spirituality and kindness. Fr. Mykola served as a priest for (60+) years, (41) year of these were under nazi and communist persecution. My understanding is that it can be very possible that some of these years were even spent in communist jail for our Faith. Difficult to estimate, how many souls Fr. Mykola brought to Christ. For me it was a huge blessing to meet him.

Such saintly, prominent priests in this country as Fr. Bogdan Zhelehivsky, Fr. Emmanuel Gratsias and Fr. Nifon Abraham did not wear beards. All of those listed already reposed in Lord. The list can be extended a lot. I just mentioned a handful.

Again, I respect your right for your opinion. But the importance of pews and beards goes behind trietary.

and the church itself is probably going to cease to exist in the next 2 years due to less than competent management by the Priest, and Parish Council.

Hopefully, things will turn around. This parish, Holy Trinity Cathedral, has such a wonderful history. One of the major cornerstones of Orthodoxy in Midwest and not only in Midwest.

On an optimistic note, there were cases of parishes in various jurisdictions when situations did not look good. But then parishes became significantly improved. In some cases, a process required a new team.

As for beards, it should be a very personal right for each particular priest or deacon to decide for himself. My first spiritual advisor did not wear a beard. He was a real servant of God, a person of an extraordinary spirituality and kindness. Fr. Mykola served as a priest for (60+) years, (41) year of these were under nazi and communist persecution. My understanding is that it can be very possible that some of these years were even spent in communist jail for our Faith. Difficult to estimate, how many souls Fr. Mykola brought to Christ. For me it was a huge blessing to meet him.

As for beards, it should be a very personal right for each particular priest or deacon to decide for himself. My first spiritual advisor did not wear a beard. He was a real servant of God, a person of an extraordinary spirituality and kindness. Fr. Mykola served as a priest for (60+) years, (41) year of these were under nazi and communist persecution. My understanding is that it can be very possible that some of these years were even spent in communist jail for our Faith. Difficult to estimate, how many souls Fr. Mykola brought to Christ. For me it was a huge blessing to meet him.

Honestly, do you really want to open up those cans of worms here?

Starlight didn't open it up, the op did by saying he wanted to find a church in Chicago that had bearded clergy. Maybe point the finger at the op and not Starlight who was merely just making a point in response to the op on the bearded clergy issue.

As for beards, it should be a very personal right for each particular priest or deacon to decide for himself. My first spiritual advisor did not wear a beard. He was a real servant of God, a person of an extraordinary spirituality and kindness. Fr. Mykola served as a priest for (60+) years, (41) year of these were under nazi and communist persecution. My understanding is that it can be very possible that some of these years were even spent in communist jail for our Faith. Difficult to estimate, how many souls Fr. Mykola brought to Christ. For me it was a huge blessing to meet him.

Honestly, do you really want to open up those cans of worms here?

Starlight didn't open it up, the op did by saying he wanted to find a church in Chicago that had bearded clergy. Maybe point the finger at the op and not Starlight who was merely just making a point in response to the op on the bearded clergy issue.

Hey kiddos! I was just joking about pews being HERETICAL. Beards are certainly secondary. I only mentioned those things to add to the "shock" factor in terms of what he was used to seeing. If this friend ever gets around to going to a service, it might be the only one he ever sees. So I was mostly concerning with his initial encounter being as traditional and 'different' as possible. Nothing against beardless priests.

But I will always have a problem with those spectator benches! They prevent bows and prostrations; they murder physical piety! They are the product of an overly cerebral Christianity; one that is unbalanced (hence unOrthodox) in its emphasis.